


Life Is Beautiful

by Jellybean96



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, F/M, Family, Fluff, Framework AU, Friendship, Reconciliation, Romance, Second Chances, it's sort of a happy ending, just not what you might be thinking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-27
Updated: 2017-03-31
Packaged: 2018-10-11 18:29:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 11,528
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10471305
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jellybean96/pseuds/Jellybean96
Summary: The Framework is nothing like she was expecting. But then, she's not sure what she was expecting. It just wasn't this. But somehow, she doesn't seem to mind too much with the life the Framework gave her.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey babes! So, I decided to jump on the Framework AU fic bandwagon. I really couldn't help myself. I got an idea for a story and I just had to write it down and put it up here for all of you.
> 
> This story is gonna be a two-parter, because I can do that, and I really hope you all enjoy it.
> 
> The title for this story is actually the title of a Bon Jovi that I think works really well for this story.
> 
> Enjoy!

She nearly drowns upon entering the Framework.

They had absolutely no way of knowing where they'd end up when they hacked their way into the Framework, so she had no way to prepare herself for waking up in the middle of a bathtub in an extremely unfamiliar bathroom.

A quick beep pulls her attention to a cell phone lying on a surface just past the edge of the tub behind her. Reaching out for it, she lifts it to read the message scrawled across the screen: _Wake up your boyfriend. We're being called in._

"Lincoln?" she breathes out quietly, in an almost disbelieving tone. Is he really here? Does she really get to see him again? Part of her knows this isn't real, that it won't actually be the version of him that she knows, but she can't keep herself from hoping that it's him.

She has to fight back tears that threaten to spill over at just the thought of getting to see some version of him as she climbs out of the tub while typing back a message: **Copy that.** She really hopes that's what the her of this made up world would say.

She sets the phone aside as she pulls a fluffy white robe on, tying the sash tightly around her waist before wiping the fog from the mirror to get a good look at herself.

The edges of her lips twitch at the sight of her long tresses, bringing back fond memories of easier times, before the whole world went to hell. She cut her hair as a way to signify a change in herself, that she was becoming a new person, someone who had been hardened by everything that happened to her. And it was also much easier to maintain that way. Seeing herself with the long hair, she thinks that maybe in this world she never had to go through all of those things. That maybe in this made up world things turned out for the better for her.

She notices mildly heavy bags under her eyes and her smile grows a little. She used to have bags all the time from staying up all hours of the night hacking or writing code. Maybe this version of her is still very much the same way. She just shakes her head a little in amusement at the idea.

Aside from the hair and the bags under her eyes, there's not much about her to wrap her head around. Maybe this won't be too difficult after all.

Taking a deep breath to steel herself, she steps over to the bathroom door and pulls it open, quietly stepping across and into the attached bedroom.

She can practically hear her heart pounding in her ears at the thought of getting to see Lincoln again, even if it is just pretend. She has to remind herself that none of this is real, that it's not really her Lincoln she's going to see; it's just a figment created by a psychotic AI.

She slowly walks towards the bed, noticing the man lying on his side under the covers, his large bicep resting on top.

She frowns. That's not Lincoln.

Her eyes roam over the room before she approaches the bed any further, hoping to find something that'll identify the man in the bed. Her gaze drifts over the different pieces of furniture and décor in the room, none of it giving her any clues. And then she sees it, it's sitting atop the dresser along one wall; a small picture frame.

She takes a few steps towards it and leans forward to see the image. Her breath catches in her throat and her eyes go wide.

"No," she whispers. "No, this can't be."

She backs away from the dresser, her back hitting the wall with a soft thud before she slides down the wall, one hand coming up to cover her mouth.

"Skye?"

She sucks in a sharp breath and looks up to see him moving about in the bed, lifting himself up onto his elbows and looking at her with furrowed brows.

It really is him. Grant Ward.

 _But it's not him_ , she has to remind herself. This is just a construct, an unreal entity created in this virtual world. But he probably doesn't know that. To him, all of this is probably just as real to him as her own world is to her.

"Skye? Honey, what are you doing down there on the floor? Are you okay?"

She swallows back the scream she wants to release and quickly swipes at her cheeks, hoping no tears fell, as she pulls herself up off of the floor.

"I'm fine," she says to him, praying her voice doesn't give away how she feels about all of this. "Just tripped."

He nods. "Right. Well come back to bed. It's a miracle we're getting as much time as we are to ourselves right now, so please come back and join me so I can spend some quality time with my incredibly gorgeous girlfriend before the day ultimately comes crashing in on us."

She's about to move towards the bed when she remembers the text.

"We've been called in," she tells him.

He sighs and sits up more. "Of course we have. If it's not one thing, it's another. I swear, sometimes I think the universe is against us getting more than four hours of sleep."

"Yeah, right."

"Guess we should get dressed, then." He throws the covers off of his body and she flinches quickly and has to force herself not to look away. If they're dating, then she's probably seen all of this before.

Her skin heats up at the sight of him in just his underwear. In her world, she never once saw him like this, unless you were to count that time with the x-ray specs. But this, this is something else.

"Why the staring? See something you like?" He's striding towards her with a smirk on his face and she can feel her heart rate quicken beneath her skin. He laughs quietly. "Of course you do. You always, always like what you see. Same goes for me too." His hands come to rest on her hips and she stiffens for a moment before telling herself to relax so he doesn't notice anything off. "I'm sure I love what you're wearing under this robe." He dips his head and presses a slow kiss to the edge of her jaw line on one side of her face and then the other.

She opens her mouth to speak but then pauses, unsure of what this version of her calls this version of him. "We have to go," she says instead. "I think it's important."

He sighs and pulls away. "It always seems to be." He looks down at her. "I'm gonna hop in the shower. Since it looks like you've already had a bath you can grab Jess and then meet me downstairs and I'll get us some breakfast before we head out."

She quietly nods her head, racking her brain to try and figure out who this 'Jess' might be. He drops a kiss to her forehead before leaving for the bathroom and she closes her eyes briefly at the feeling, as well as really hoping that Jess is some kind of a pet and not actually what her brain is telling her.

Once she hears the bathroom door close, she lets out a breath and then slowly makes her way over to the bedroom door, pulling it open and stepping into the hallway.

She follows the quiet noises she hears which leads her to a closed door with light purple letters spelling out 'Jessica' across it. Small butterfly stickers are littered all across it, many of them clustered together and overlapping at the bottom of the door.

She takes a deep breath and pushes the door open, taking a small step into the room.

"Momma!"

The high pitched squeal draws her attention to the crib on one side of the room, and the inhabitant of said crib.

A beautiful little brunette girl with wide, brown eyes is standing up in the crib, leaning against the railing with her arms outstretched. She has on a pair of pink pajamas with butterflies covering them. This little girl, Jessica, must really love butterflies, if the ones on her door, pajamas, and large ones decorating the walls are anything to go by.

She looks at the little girl, who she thinks can't be more than two years old and her breath catches in her throat. She looks just like him, with small hints of herself throughout her features.

Her heart breaks. Once upon a time she wanted this with him. Once upon a time she dreamed about having this kind of life with him, even if it was shot down way too quickly by what he was revealed to be. If things had happened differently, she could have had all of this in her world.

"Momma!" the little girl shrieks again, pulling her out of her own head.

She cracks a nervous smile and steps towards the bed. "Hey there, little one," she says softly and somewhat nervously, hoping it comes off as motherly. For a long time she never saw herself as a mother, never thought she'd be able to have it.

"Momma, up," the little girl, Jessica, states, thrusting her tiny arms out to her.

She hesitates for a small moment before reaching out and lifting the little girl into her arms.

Jessica immediately curls up against her chest, letting out a content sigh as she reaches up and grabs a chunk of her wet hair, gently playing with it.

"Should we go downstairs and wait for Wa—your dad?" She manages to correct herself at the last second when she talks to the small child in her arms. Jessica just makes a small noise in response, which she takes as a yes, and then moves out of the bedroom.

She descends the stairs and finds herself in an entryway, the kitchen being just past the open doorway in front of her. She starts towards the kitchen when a few photo frames hanging on the wall catch her attention.

She debates internally on whether or not to look at the images, reminding herself that none of this is actually real, and neither are the pictures. But it all feels so real. Ward's lips on her skin felt real, the child sitting on her hip feels real, everything feels real. But it isn't.

Finding she can no longer contain her curiosity, she steps towards the photos and her breath catches again when she sees them.

There's one of her and Ward together, his arms wrapped tightly around her from behind, his chin resting on top of her head, both with wide smiles on their faces. Her hands are resting on his, their fingers laced together, sitting on her large stomach which she assumes is when the her of this world was pregnant with the child currently resting on her hip. There are two clusters of pink mylar balloons on either side of them, 'It's a Girl' written across each one in a fancy script.

Then there's a photo of Jessica when she was a new born, fast asleep on a blanket with a banner lying above her reading 'Jessica Katherine Ward' and one below her reading 'March 25, 2015'. She lets that little tidbit sink in for a moment. Considering in the real world they'd only met in the latter half of 2014, when he kidnapped her from her van, in the Framework they must have known each other for a little bit longer if they have a kid together who was born in the early months of 2015. Or they just had a really passionate one night and she wound up pregnant with his kid. She's not sure exactly how long they've known each other here, and it's not like she can exactly ask him a question like that.

She focuses her attention on the last photo; a family photo of the three of them that she assumes was taken not too long ago. She and Ward are standing side by side, his arm wrapped around her waist, his hand resting on her hip. She has one hand on his chest, the other presumably wrapped around his back, smiling up at him while he smiles down at her. Jessica is sitting atop Ward's shoulders, one of his hands holding onto her tiny leg. The little girl has a wide smile on her face as she looks at the camera, her small hands clutching tightly onto fistfuls of Ward's dark hair.

"Momma! Me!" Jessica shouts, pointing to the photo of her as a baby.

"Yeah, that's you, sweet girl," she says without really thinking. The term of endearment just slipped past her lips. "Who else do you see up there?" she asks the girl.

"Momma 'n dada," Jessica replies with a proud smile.

She can't help but smile at that. This is all so surreal.

"There are my two favorite girls."

"Dada!" Jessica exclaims, squirming in her arms and letting out a few sounds of discontent.

She thinks she's nearly about to drop Jessica from all the squirming when Ward quickly steps in and scoops Jessica up, lifting her into the air and then bringing her back down to pepper small kisses all over her face.

The smile she was wearing just a second ago widens and her heart breaks a little more.

"What were you two doing?" Ward asks and Jessica points to the photos on the wall.

"Just taking a little trip down memory lane," she tells him, casually crossing her arms in front of her chest. She nods towards the wall. "I love those photos."

He smiles at her. "So do I. Three amazing days captured and put on display. Of course, there could be another photo up there if you weren't so damn stubborn," he tells her with what she thinks is a teasing smile.

"I...have my reasons," she says with what she hopes is a teasing smile as well.

He sighs and rolls his eyes, adjusting Jessica on his hip. "Yes, I know, I know. You don't want to get married just because we have a kid together. You've said it time and time again. I want to marry you as soon as I possibly can, but I get where you're coming from. Jess wasn't exactly planned, but we wouldn't trade her for the world." He looks at Jessica and makes a goofy face as he tickles her stomach, making the girl giggle.

Skye stumbles on her feet a bit as different images flash before her eyes. Images of her and Grant, and Jessica, and their life together. The images are brief, disappearing just as quickly as they appeared, but it rattles her. She remembers each one of them as clear as day, like she was actually there for them. But she wasn't.

Grant letting out a low chuckle pulls her attention to him. He takes a deep breath. "Anyway, the phone went off again. Unfortunately we don't have time for one of my incredible meals this morning so we'll just have to go with some energy bars for us and a bag of cheerios for Jess. Since you still have to get dressed I'll go get Jess changed and then meet you out in the garage."

She nods silently again which seems to appease him because he drops a kiss to her forehead and then ascends the stairs.

She watches him go for a moment, talking quietly to Jessica as he goes and the whole sight makes her heart flutter. She shakes her head to clear her thoughts and then moves up the stairs back to the master bedroom.

When she gets there, she moves to the dresser, eyeing the different items sitting on top of it. Some of them seem very her, stuff that she could actually see herself having in a house that's actually hers.

Unsure of which drawers are hers, she pulls open one of the top ones to find it full of men's Henley's, mainly black and grey. She lingers for a moment as she stares down at the shirts, remembering how much she loved seeing the Ward of her world wearing those shirts.

She shakes her head again to clear her thoughts and closes the drawer before opening the one right next to it. This drawer being full of different colored flannel shirts, she knows it's her drawer. She used to love wearing flannel shirts like that. It became less practical when she became an agent and started wearing tac gear most of the time. She probably wears a lot more flannel in this world.

Deciding on one of the darker t-shirts sitting in the drawer, figuring it'd be best for whatever they're being called in for, she also grabs a bra out of the drawer. She grabs a pair of dark jeans from the drawer below, as well as some underwear, and pulls everything on, depositing the robe back in the bathroom.

Heading back downstairs, she meets Grant at the bottom where he's sliding the cell phone into the pocket of his slacks and she starts wondering when she started calling him Grant in her head.

"You ready to go?" he asks when he sees her.

She gives him a tight-lipped smile and nods her head. "Yeah."

He furrows his brows. "Hey, you feeling okay?"

"Just feeling a little off," she tells him. "I'll be fine. Just…do you think you can drive today?" she asks him, grabbing the dark jacket that she assumes is hers off the coat rack just inside the door and sliding it on.

"Of course I'm driving today," he says. "Like I'd actually trust you to drive with our daughter in the car." He laughs quietly and she feels like she should say something in response to his quip.

"Momma!" Jessica's exclamation saves her from having to reply and she happily takes the little girl into her arms, smiling when she gets a big sloppy kiss to her cheek and hug around the neck.

She reacts almost instantaneously, like she's done this all before, hugging the girl back and kissing her cheek.

"You ready to go, then?"

She looks up at Grant and nods silently, then follows him out to the garage where their car is waiting for them. She manages to get Jessica buckled into her car seat and then they're pulling out of their neighborhood.

"Hey, Jessie, you ready to go play at Auntie Kara's house for a few hours while mommy and daddy are at work?"

Her breath hitches in her throat at the recognition of the name and then the excited squeal from her daughter. Apparently in this world Agent 33 never died. She really wasn't expecting that.

Soon enough they pull up to a modest looking home and she really can't believe it. The front door opens and out steps the somewhat familiar face.

"Aun' Kara!"

Jessica's squeal of delight from the backseat is enough to make her smile and squash out any reservations about this. Obviously her daughter really likes this version of Agent 33, Kara, so she must be close with their little family.

Grant takes the liberty of removing Jessica from the car, allowing the young girl to dart across the lawn towards Kara once her feet touch the ground.

Her head goes fuzzy again and more images of Jessica flash through her mind, ones of her running and walking and falling.

"Hey, Skye."

The greeting calls her attention and the images disappear again. She looks out the window to see the raven-haired woman holding her daughter smiling at her and waving.

She gives what she hopes is a friendly smile and waves back. "Hey."

"Momma! Bye bye."

"Bye, sweet girl," she says in response. "Momma loves you."

Grant's door closes and she turns to look at him.

"It never gets any easier leaving her for any length of time," he says with a sigh. "Even if she is with someone we trust with our lives."

"Definitely," she replies. She takes a deep breath. "Should we get going, then? Don't want to be late."

He nods once and then turns to face the front of the car, starting the engine back up and pulling out onto the road.

* * *

The reason they had been called in turned out to be because they'd captured someone for an interrogation. But not for SHIELD. No. Apparently they work for Hydra here and she just can't wrap her head around that. It's too much. She doesn't know how that's even possible here.

But apparently she and Grant are the best that they have for this kind of thing. She's had, not necessarily a dream, but she'd thought about this type of thing in her world. About the two of them working together like this. Just not for Hydra.

They also needed her to work some of her computer magic while they were there. She's glad that her work with computers remained in this world. That's one thing she misses doing in her own world. She hasn't worked with computers and hacking as much as she would like to in recent months.

After the interrogation, they bid farewell to everyone and then Grant drives them back home, stopping by Kara's place first to pick up Jessica. That's still hard for her to wrap her head around, that they're friends with Agent 33, _Kara_ , in this world, and she's not an agent.

The drive is fairly quiet.

"As soon as we get home we need to contact Trip and tell him what we found out during the interrogation."

She looks to him with furrowed brows and tears instantly building up in her eyes. Trip's alive in this world? But he works for Hydra? That can't be right. Trip world never work for Hydra. Unless his grandfather was never a Howling Commando here.

Grant's voice cuts into her thoughts. "SHIELD will definitely be interested in what we got in that interrogation."

She lets out a breath she didn't actually realize she was holding. That makes more sense, Trip working with SHIELD. Obviously they do too. So they're undercover at Hydra for SHIELD. Or they're betraying Hydra for SHIELD. Either way they're not really working for Hydra and she can live with that.

They make it to Kara's place and she tells Grant that she'll go up to the house and Jessica, that she's missed her little girl. He just smiles at her so she leaves the car and goes up to the front door, knocking on the door.

A second later it opens and she sees the familiar raven haired woman standing on the other side. Part of her feels bad that she never got to know this woman in her world. She thinks they might have been able to be friends had circumstances been different.

"Skye, hey. How'd everything go?"

She's not sure how much she's supposed to reveal so she goes with the classic, "Pretty good. But I'm just aching to see my baby now."

Kara smiles at her. "Of course you are. Come on in."

It's a somewhat small house, just big enough for one or two people to live in. She's not sure if Kara is with anyone in this world. But none of that matters as soon as she sees Jessica sitting on the couch in the living room, her eyes glued to the television.

"You know, I still think it's funny that for how much your job revolves around technology you limit the amount of time Jessica actually spends in front of a screen. But I promise she's only been watching for a few minutes. We were doing lots of other fun, technology-free, activities earlier."

"Thank you," she says to the woman. "And I don't want her to become one of those kids who can't figure out how to live their life if she's not in front of a screen."

"Yeah, so I've heard time and time again." Kara lets out a small laugh and then turns towards Jessica. "Hey, Jessie, look who's here to get you?"

A small gasp and then a shout of "Momma!" and her heart completely melts again. She's able to lean down and brace herself for the small body that launches at her. She holds Jessica close and gives her a few kisses and a hug before thanking Kara for watching her and then she's back out in the car.

"You ready to go home, angel?" Grant asks their little girl.

Jessica grins and kicks her feet out, shouting "Yes!" as loud as she can, followed by an exclamation of "Airpwane!"

"Of course we can play airplane when we get home," Grant tells the little girl, glancing at her through the rearview mirror.

"Momma too!" she exclaims.

Grant chuckles and glances at her with a small smile. "Maybe if you try really hard and give momma the puppy eyes she'll cave and play airplane with us."

She can't help but smile back at him and her heart breaks just a little more. She could have had this. She could have had all of this. How could she have been so childish and stupid to not listen to him and ultimately give up everything she didn't know she could have? She should have been there, she should have just listened, she should have understood sooner.

* * *

As she sits in the rocking chair in the bedroom, holding the sleeping little girl in her arms, her heart continues to ache and ache. There's a small part of her that knows none of this is even real, that it can't and won't ever be real, but a larger part of her doesn't care, doesn't want to believe that.

"You're not her, are you?"

She looks up from the sleeping face of her daughter to see Grant standing in the doorway to the nursery, looking at her with an expression she can't quite decipher.

"What?"

He steps into the room and slowly walks towards her. "My Skye," he says. "You're not her. So who are you?"

"Of course I'm your Skye," she tells him. "Who else would I be?"

He shifts on his feet and crosses his arms, breathing in deeply. "You tell me."

She sighs and stands up from the chair and moves towards the crib, gently lying Jessica down inside. She presses a kiss to her forehead, brushing some hair out of the little girl's face before standing back up straight and facing Grant. "I don't know what you want me to say."

"The truth," he replies, turning and making his way out of the room. She follows after him, making sure to close the door behind her. "I thought something was off all day with you but I didn't say anything because I figured you were just having an off-day. But it's not that, isn't it?"

She shakes her head. "No. I'm...this place isn't…real. None of this is real. I came here to find my friends and bring them back into the real world. But I never expected any of this."

"Any of what?"

"This," she says, gesturing around them. "I never expected to see you here, or for us to be together with a kid, and so damn happy too. For a short time I dreamed of having this with the you from my world, but everything fell apart beneath our feet and I was completely blinded by hatred and rage and betrayal and we never got the chance to have any of this." She takes a few steps forward. "But right now, being here with you, I have everything I wanted what feels like a lifetime ago." She wraps her arms around his torso and tilts her head up to look at him. "And it's ten times better than anything I could have dreamed up."

"But none of it is real," Grant whispers. "You said so yourself."

She shakes her head. "I don't care, Grant. I don't care if this isn't actually real. It feels real. Your lips against my skin when you kissed me this morning, the way my heart leaps every time you smile at me, or when Jessica calls me 'momma' and gives me the sloppiest kisses; it all feels so incredibly real and I don't ever want a single minute of it to end."

"But what happens when you get to your friends and get them back to the real world?" he asks her cautiously. "What happens then? Do Jess and I just cease to exist while you go on living your life and we don't know it because we aren't real? Or do we keep on living, knowing that you're gone forever? Does the Skye from this world come back when you leave? And would she have any idea that she was even gone for however long it takes you to find your friends?"

"I don't know," she admits. She takes a deep breath. "But I'm not going back."

His breath hitches. "What?"

"I said I'm not going back," she repeats, taking a small step closer to him. "I'm the happiest I've been being here the past day than I've been out in the real world the last three years. This life is the one that I want. With you and Jessica, here, as a family."

"But you don't belong here," he tells her softly.

"That doesn't matter to me." She swallows. "I've been getting these flashes throughout the day. I think they're memories of this life. I'm remembering things about our life and our family. I can stay here with the two of you and it'll be like it was before I forced my way in here and took control of this version of me. We can be a family, Grant, the three of us. And maybe someday down the road we'll add one or two more pairs of little feet running around in here."

"You really want that?" he asks her and she simply nods her head. "And there's nothing I can do to convince you to go back to where you're really from and live your real life?"

She shakes her head again. "This is the only life I want to live. Right here with you and our beautiful little girl who is your spitting image."

Grant smiles. "I always thought she looked more like you."

She smiles back up at him and then closes the space between them, wrapping her arms tighter around him as she hugs him, breathing in deeply, her eyes closing in contentment.

This is what she wants. This is what she's always wanted. And now she has it. And she's going to do everything she can to keep it. She just has to save her friends first.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey babes! Back again with the second part of my Framework AU fic. This one's got a few cute, little happy moments between our little family in it. But there is also some angsty-ish stuff in there, because of for some reason my mind just thrives off that stuff. But don't worry, it has a somewhat happy ending.
> 
> Enjoy!

_"What is he doing here?"  
_

_"It's fine, you guys, he's not who you think he is in here. He helped me find all of you so I could wake you up and send you back to the real world."  
_

_"Wait, why did that sound like you aren't coming with us?"  
_

_"Because I'm not. I'm staying here. With Grant. And our daughter."  
_

_"Daisy, you can't."  
_

_"I can, and I am."  
_

_"But we don't know what prolonged exposure to the Framework will do to your body."  
_

_"So figure it out. And keep my body safe for me. Put it on ice or something so it still looks good. Don't let it get all gross and decayed or anything. I'm not leaving here, I can't."  
_

_"You really aren't coming back with us?"  
_

_"No."  
_

_"We're going to miss you."  
_

_"I'm going to miss you guys too, but this is what I want. It's what I've always wanted."  
_

_"Guess this is goodbye, then."  
_

_"Yeah, guess so."_

* * *

She sits at the kitchen table in the dark, the moonlight shining through the glass door near her, a steaming mug of coffee sitting in front of her. She lets a small smile cross over her lips as she absentmindedly plays with the two bands around the fourth finger of her left hand. She's still getting used to them being there.

It's been two months since they got married, and a year almost to the day that she saved her team and stayed behind. It was six months after she decided to stay that Grant asked her to marry him. He used Jessica to help him ask her, and she didn't even hesitate in saying yes, she was more than happy to marry him. They didn't wait long in actually getting married, only a few months; neither of them were really into the idea of having a large, extravagant wedding. They just wanted the people who meant the most to them to be there. Of course, she couldn't have any of her team there, considering they were back in the real world. But they had Kara there, and a few of their other neighbors who they're close with. It was a very intimate and beautiful ceremony.

It's only been four months but she's still as happy being married to him as she was those first few days during their honeymoon to the beach. She really wouldn't trade a second of this life for her old life. She's happy.

"Hey, what are you doing up already?"

Lifting her head, she smiles at the sight of her husband shuffling into the kitchen, his hair sticking up at odd angles. He flips the light on as he enters the room.

"Couldn't sleep," she tells him. "You?"

"You know I sleep easier when you're beside me," he responds and then leans down to brush a kiss to her forehead. She smiles at the familiar gesture. "Want me to get breakfast started since we're both up?"

She nods. "Yeah, that'd be great. Will you make your pancakes with the chocolate chips in them?"

He smiles. "Of course."

She smiles back at him and then turns her attention back to the rings on her finger, spinning them around as she lets her mind wander.

"You doing okay over there? You've seemed a little out of it the last couple days."

"I'm fine," she tells him. Lie. Total lie. She's not fine, and he definitely knows it. He knows her so well; of course he knows she's not doing okay.

"Don't lie to me, babe," he says softly.

She sighs. She just can't resist him. "I've been having these dreams the last couple of nights."

He turns to face her as the pan warms up. "Dreams about what?"

"About when I sent the team back and stayed here with you and Jess."

He nods in understanding. "Ah. And you're feeling guilty about staying behind?"

She sighs. "I don't know. Maybe. I mean, don't get me wrong, I love being here with you and Jess, it's amazing. We have an amazing life. But they were my team. And I just abandoned them. Sort of."

"Do you want to go back?" he asks.

Her head shoots up to look at him and she shakes her head vehemently. How could he even ask her a question like that after all this time? "No," she tells him firmly. "No, I don't want to go back. I told you a year ago that I wanted to stay here and I meant every word of it."

He smiles at her. "I love you."

Her heart flutters even though she's heard it so many times before and she smiles at him. "I love you too."

"Moooommaa!"

She sighs, but can't keep the smile off her face. "Looks like it's an early day for all three of us."

"I think she's excited for what's happening later today."

"Do you think she even realizes what today is?" she asks her husband.

He shrugs. "Maybe. She is pretty smart."

"Mooommmaaaa!"

She sighs again as she stands from the table. "I'll get her, you start breakfast." She gives him a quick kiss before making her way up the stairs towards her daughter's bedroom.

The sight that greets her when she steps into the bedroom makes her heart float. Her daughter is sitting up in her 'big girl' bed; her favorite stuffed elephant clutched tightly in one hand, a wide smile on her face as soon as she sees her.

"Momma!" the little girl exclaims happily.

"Hey, Jessie," she says back, stepping forward to lift the three year old into her arms. "What are you doing up, baby girl?" She settles the little girl onto her hip. "Are you excited for this afternoon? I can't believe how big you're getting." Jessica smiles up at her and then settles her head on her shoulder. "Should we go downstairs and see daddy?"

"Yeah," Jessica says with a small nod. "Wanna see daddy."

She smiles down at her daughter and presses a kiss to her forehead. "Alright, we'll go downstairs and see daddy. I think he's even making breakfast for us right now."

"Yummy!" Jessica exclaims with a small smile.

She can't help the small laugh that escapes her as she makes her way back down to the kitchen. "Yes, the food that daddy makes us is always very delicious."

"There's my beautiful angel. Happy birthday, Jess."

Her heart leaps when she sees the look on her daughter's face at seeing the few brightly colored mylar balloons set up in the dining room right by where Jessica always sits at the table, 'Happy Birthday' written across each of them.

"Happy birthday, angel," she says to the little girl, pressing a kiss to the side of her head. "Daddy and I love you so so much."

"Which is why you get balloons at breakfast," Grant says and she smiles over at him.

"You're amazing," she tells him as she moves towards the table and sets Jessica down. "I had no idea you got balloons for her."

"I got them yesterday," he says with a small shrug. "I wasn't originally going to get any but I just thought they would be perfect as soon I saw them."

"Well they are perfect," she agrees. She steps over to him and wraps her arms up around his neck. "Just like you."

"I'm far from perfect, Skye," he reminds her. "We both know that."

"Maybe so. But you're perfect for me."

He smiles and leans down to give her a kiss. "That I would definitely have to agree with."

* * *

"Alright, where's the birthday girl?"

She looks up to see Kara making her way through the backyard, carrying a semi-large wrapped box in her arms.

Jessica shrieks happily and then darts across the lawn towards the raven-haired woman. She can't help but smile. All the memories from the last few years, as well as all the rest of the time she's spent with Kara since she got into the Framework, has really made her care a great deal about this other woman. If she's anything like the Kara from the real world might have been had she not been captured by Hydra, then she really wishes they could have done something to save her.

"Hey there, my little ladybug."

She pulls herself from her thoughts to see Kara setting the present down in the grass and picking Jessica up, tossing her in the air and then catching her in her arms again, hugging her and peppering her tiny face with kisses.

"Kara, I'm so glad you could make it," she speaks up, approaching the other woman with a smile.

Kara smiles back at her. "Did you really think I was going to miss my goddaughter's birthday party? Not a chance." That's another thing that shook her up a little. Kara is her daughter's godmother. The simple fact that she's alive in this world and is a close friend was enough to shake her, but she's Jessica's godmother as well. She's not at all opposed to that, though, seeing how much Jessica loves Kara, and vice versa.

"I never doubted for a second that you'd miss the party," she says and then looks at her daughter. "Are you happy that Auntie Kara came to your party, baby girl?"

Jessica just smiles wide and hugs Kara around the neck.

Kara hugs her back and laughs. "I'm happy too, bug."

A familiar shot of pain resonates at the base of her neck and her eyes close as she stumbles back on her feet. A high-pitched one-tone sound rings out for a split second and then it's gone, along with the pain.

"Momma? Momma, you okay?"

She opens her eyes to see Kara and Jessica both looking at her with concern written across both of their faces.

Jessica's leaning out of Kara's arms towards her and she takes the young girl into her arms. Jessica immediately wraps her tiny legs around her and looks her straight in the eyes, her tiny hands framing her face.

"Momma, you okay? Need daddy?"

She can't help but smile at the concern her daughter shows her. "No, baby girl, I don't need daddy. I'm okay. Why don't you go and play with your friends, okay?"

Jessica looks at her for another moment before nodding. "Okay, mommy."

She lets Jessica slide down out of her arms and then watches as she runs off through the grass.

"Hey, are you really okay? Or were just saying that so Jess wouldn't worry?"

She turns back around to face Kara and gives her a small smile. "I'm fine. It's just a headache, that's all. Nothing to worry about."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, Kara, I promise you I'm fine. Now come on, grab the present you brought and put it with the others then go and join the party; maybe harass Grant a little because I know how much you love doing that. Today is all about celebrating the day I pushed that cute little ball of sunshine into this world."

Kara smiles. "That definitely is something to celebrate."

She nods in agreement. "Yes it is."

* * *

"Skye, what is Jessica doing in our bed?"

She lifts her head to see Grant standing in the doorway watching her. "I have no idea what you mean," she replies, trying to pry her hands free from Jessica's grip.

Grant chuckles quietly as he moves into the room. "Well, she's not in her bed, and she's not in the bathroom, or in any of the other rooms in the house. So that leaves one more place." He sits down on the edge of the bed. "Our room."

"I don't know about any child being in here," she says with a small smile as she finally manages to pull her hands out from under the blankets. "But there is this odd sort of lump right here next to me." She pats the area where Jessica is curled up under the blankets. "And I can't figure out what it is."

"You mean this lump?" he asks, moving forward on the bed and setting his hands on top of Jessica, causing the little girl to giggle quietly.

She nods. "Mm-hmm. Maybe you can help me figure it out."

"I'll do my best," he says, and then takes a deep breath. "Alright, hmm." He begins poking different areas, eliciting more quiet giggles and from Jessica as she squirms under his touch. "It seems to be something that moves, I think."

"I came to that conclusion too," she tells him, suppressing a smile. "I just couldn't figure out what it is."

"You know, I think I have an idea what this is," he tells her, sitting back.

"Oh really? And what do you believe it is?"

"A three year old," he says with a sharp nod of his head. He reaches back out and grabs the edge of the blanket, lifting it up and smiling when he sees Jessica lying on her back, smiling up at him. "I was right," he says. "It's a newly turned three year old."

"Really," she says. "How interesting. What are you going to do with it?"

"There's only one thing to do with a three year old," he replies. He looks down at Jessica and grins. "A tickle attack!" he shouts, and then pulls Jessica up into his lap, assaulting her tiny body with his fingers, making the little girl squirm in his arms and laugh out loud.

"Daddy! Stop!" Jessica shouts after a minute, continuing to laugh and squirm. "Mommy, help!"

"You want me to help you?" she asks the little girl.

"Yeah!" Another full-belly laugh escapes the three year old.

"Oh, I don't know," she says teasingly. "I don't want to get in the way of daddy's tickle attack. He might get me too."

"You mean like this?" Grant asks, and then he's reaching out for her, wrapping one arm around her waist to pull her closer to him. He keeps his other arm wrapped around Jessica as he starts to tickle the both of them.

Before she knows it, a loud laugh is escaping past her lips and she's wriggling around on the bed with her daughter. She leans over and pulls her daughter up onto her chest, preventing Grant's hands from getting to certain ticklish areas.

"Using the child as a shield, I see," he says. "Very strategic move, but it will do you no good." He leans down and lifts up the bottom of Jessica's pajama top, blowing a raspberry onto her stomach, making the little girl squeal with laughter and roll off her mom's chest.

Once Jessica is lying back on the bed, she watches as Grant moves so he's hovering above her, his lips just inches from hers. "Now then. The child is out of the way, and I have much more planned for you than just a tickle attack," he says quietly.

She swallows thickly as she stares up at him. "She's not completely out of the way," she whispers back.

He tilts his head. "What?"

"Daddy!" Jessica shouts and then launches her tiny body at Grant, her arms wrapping tightly around his neck. She moves her face down so she can look at her dad, smiling at him. "Hi, dad."

Grant laughs and sits up, pulling Jessica with him. "Hi, Jess," he says with a smile, holding her in his lap, his arms wrapped around her back. He presses a large kiss to Jessica's cheek as he falls backwards on the bed, taking the little girl down with him.

She just laughs as she watches them interact, talking softly to one another, their faces close together. Lifting herself up onto her elbows, she moves up the bed so she's lying right next to Grant and smiles up at her daughter. "Hey, baby girl."

"Hi, momma."

"Are you having fun playing with daddy?" she asks her daughter.

Jessica nods enthusiastically. "Yeah."

"We should probably start winding down now, though," Grant states, looking at his daughter. "It's about time for you to go to bed, little miss."

Jessica shakes her head. "No bed."

"Sorry, sweetheart," she says to her daughter. "Even birthday girls have to go to bed eventually. But if mommy and daddy don't have to work tomorrow, then we can all have a lazy day together."

"I think that sounds like an excellent plan," Grant tells her, turning his head to look at her. She doesn't think she'll ever get tired of the way he looks at her. It makes her heart leap every time.

"I thought it was," she says back.

"Do you want to put the munchkin to bed or should I?" he asks her.

She just smiles at him. "You can." She loves watching him with their daughter. It's one of the things she loves most.

"Right. I'll be back then. Jessie, say goodnight to mom, it's time for bed."

She smiles as her daughter leans over to give her a kiss. "Night momma."

"Goodnight, angel. I love you. Sleep tight."

"And away we go," Grant says, holding Jessica tightly as he stands from the bed and then lifts the little girl up in the air, her stomach resting on top of his head as he holds onto her sides.

She watches them leave the room with a smile on her face. Once they're gone she leans over to the nightstand and grabs the tablet, unlocking it and going into the photos taken during Jessica's party that afternoon.

She swipes through the photos and then stops on the one of Jessica smiling wide for the camera, a slice of her birthday cake sitting in front of her.

"Can't believe you're already three, baby girl," she whispers quietly as she stares down at the photo. "It's too crazy."

"That it is."

She feels the bed dip next to her and then an arm snake around her waist. She smiles as she leans into his side. "I have something to tell you."

"What is it?"

She smiles and pulls away, grabbing his hand and lacing their fingers together.

A sudden sharpness at the base of her skull resonates, causing her body to stiffen and her eyes to close.

"Skye? Honey, are you okay?"

She waits a moment for the pain to subside before she opens her eyes and nods her head. "Yeah, I'm fine." She turns her head to look up at him. "Just a little headache. I've been having them on and off for about a week or so."

"Are you sure it's just a headache?" he asks her.

She nods her head. "Yeah. Why?"

"Because your nose is bleeding. I don't think headaches can cause nosebleeds, but then again I'm no doctor."

She lifts a hand to her face and when she brings it back there is a small droplet of the crimson liquid on her finger tips.

"Damn it," she mutters, wiping at her nose again.

"Skye, are you okay?" Grant asks her.

She nods. "Yeah. I think I just need to go clean myself up and I'll be good."

"You sure?"

She smiles sweetly at him. "I'm sure."

"Okay. I can't promise I'll still be awake when you're done."

"It's fine. You can go to sleep. It's been a long day for all of us."

"Yeah, alright. I love you."

She smiles down at him. "I love you too." She hesitates for a moment before turning and making her way into the attached bathroom, stopping in front of the mirror and staring at herself. There's a small trail of blood coming out of her nose and she quickly grabs some toilet paper to take care of it.

Once she finishes, she heads back into the bedroom, finding her husband already asleep in their bed, his eyes closed and his breathing even.

She moves to her side of the bed and climbs in under the covers, sidling up right next to him. He immediately curls around her and she smiles. She'll tell him tomorrow, they're shouldn't be any interruptions tomorrow.

* * *

Breathing in deeply, she stretches her arms out, one hand hitting the coolness of the empty section of sheet beside her. She looks to see Grant's body no longer there, he must be up already and starting on breakfast.

Climbing out of the bed, she pads her way out of the room, stopping at Jessica's room to check on the little girl. Finding her daughter still sleeping, she continues down the hallway and to the kitchen.

She stops for a moment to smile at the relatively new photo hanging on the wall of her and Grant's wedding. They're standing in front of each other, arms wrapped around one another with their heads bent together, both of them with wide smiles on their faces.

Pulling herself from her thoughts, she makes her way into the kitchen to find Grant standing at the stove, his back to her.

"Morning, handsome."

He looks over his shoulder and gives her a small smile. "Hey. Did you sleep well?"

She nods her head as she sits down in one of the chairs at the dining room table. "Yeah. But I uh, I have something to tell you. I was going to tell you last night but then my head and my nose decided to cause problems."

"Can I say something first?" he asks, turning around to face her and leaning back against the countertop.

She shrugs. "Yeah, sure. What's up?"

"First of all, I want you to know that I love you more than I'll ever really be able to show and this past year has been absolutely incredible."

She furrows her brows and stands up from the chair. "Grant, you're kind of scaring me. What are you trying to say?"

He takes a deep breath. "I think…I think it'd be best for you if you left. And went back to where you're really from."

Her breath catches in her throat. How could he even suggest something like that to her? "What? Why would I do that?"

"Because something is obviously happening to you and you're not really safe anymore."

"And maybe it's just nothing," she tells him, taking a few steps towards him. "Maybe it's nothing at all and we shouldn't worry about it and make it a bigger deal than it has to be." She can feel the tears building up in her eyes and fights them back.

"You know I'm right, Skye," he says softly, reaching out to grab her hands. "Deep down I think you know that something is happening, and the longer you stay here, the worse it's going to get."

"I don't want to leave," she says teary-eyed, shaking her vehemently. "I want to stay here with you and Jess."

"You can't, Skye," he tells her, tears shining in his own eyes. "Staying in here, it's…I think it's killing you."

"So let it," she says. "If I'm going to die, I want my last moments to be spent with you and our daughter."

He closes his eyes tightly, a few tears escaping. He opens them again and looks up at her. "I love you so much."

"I love you too. Which is why I'm staying. I don't care what happens to me."

"But you should care. You shouldn't keep doing something if you know that it's not good for you."

"This is good for me, though," she insists. "Being here with you and our daughter is the best damn thing to happen to me since as long as I can remember."

"And I believe you."

"So you know why I'm not leaving."

He shakes his head. "You have to, Skye. You have to go back, be with your team, and save the world. Be a hero. And maybe one day, you'll find a nice guy and settle down, and have that family you always wanted."

"But I already have that with you," she tells him. "Right here is where I want to stay; I don't want to go back."

"I don't want you to go back either. But you need to. It's...it's for the best, for you."

"What's going to happen to you and Jess if I leave, though?" she asks. "Are you two just going to cease to exist? Am I going to forget about you and everything we've gone through in the last year?"

He shakes his head and swallows thickly. "I don't know. I don't know what'll happen. But what I do know is that I am never going to stop loving you with everything I have."

"I'm never going to stop loving you either, even if I don't remember you when I go back. You were one of the best things to ever happen to me, even if I was being too stupid and petty to see that."

"But now you know it," he tells her. "And when you get back there, you can really move on with your life and commit fully to someone else without holding back at all."

"No one's ever going to be as good to me as you were," she says to him, resting one hand on his cheek. "Even when times were bad you never once put me down or treated me like I was treating you. You still wanted to see the good and the light in me, even when I thought it'd all been snuffed out."

"That's because you always have been, and always will be my light, Skye. I know that's true here, and maybe it was true out in your world too. Maybe you were the other me's light but he just didn't see it until it was too late to do anything."

"Yeah, maybe. But I was too late, too. I didn't understand until he was already gone. He wanted me to understand, and I do, just not in time to save him."

"So save yourself," he tells her. "If your version of him was anything like me, then he wouldn't want you to keep putting yourself through something that's only going to do you harm in the long run. You need to get out of here, Skye. As much as I want you to stay here, I don't think you can anymore."

She nods slowly, tears rolling freely down her face as she looks up at him. The last thing she wants to do is to leave him. She never wants to leave him. "Okay. I'll go."

"Do you want to wake Jess up so you can see her one last time?" he asks her.

She shakes her head. "No, that's just going to make everything more difficult. Just…just make sure she knows that I love her, okay?"

"I promise I will." He drops her hands to cup her face instead, looking right into her eyes. "I love you so much, Skye."

"I love you too. And I always will." She closes her eyes tightly, letting a few more tears fall down her face when Grant leans down to press a soft, lingering kiss to her forehead, his way of saying goodbye to her.

She wishes she didn't have to leave, but she's knows he's right. She knows she can't stay. She knows she has to go.

* * *

Sucking in a sharp breath, she jerks upright, breathing heavily with tears already springing to her eyes. She struggles to get in deep breathes, as if her chest is going to cave in, somehow there's too much pressure on it.

"I think she's having some kind of a panic attack."

She vaguely recognizes that voice. It's been so long since she's heard that voice. Too long.

It worked. She's back. She's actually back.

"Daisy? Daisy, can you hear me?"

That name sounds so foreign to her now; no one's called her that in a year.

She doesn't know how much time passes, but everything around her eventually starts to come into focus. She sees all the faces of the people she essentially abandoned when she chose to stay behind.

"Daisy, are you okay?"

She looks up to see Jemma looking at her with pure concern all over her face and she knows there are tears building up in her own eyes.

She looks around at all of the people gathered near her and covers her mouth with her hand as she chokes on a sob, flashes of Grant and Jessica filling up her mind at a rapid pace. Their smiling faces take up all the space in her head as everything she left behind starts to hit her all at once.

"I'm so sorry," she whispers through her tears, one hand shakily finding its way to her abdomen and resting there. "I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry."

"Daisy? Daisy, who are you speaking to? Are you alright?"

She sucks in a sharp, deep breath, willing herself to stop crying as she looks up at the familiar faces surrounding her, Jemma standing the closest to her.

"Send me back," she says quietly.

"What?"

"I said send me back," she repeats, looking the bio-chemist directly in the eyes. "Plug me back in, do something, just send me back. I have to go back. Please."

Jemma shakes her head slightly as her mouth parts and she can practically hear her heart breaking into a million tiny pieces.

"You can't send me back, can you?"

Jemma shakes her head again. "I'm sorry, no. Since you and I hacked our way in, prolonged exposure to the Framework started to take a toll on your brain. Certain areas were starting to show less and less activity as time went on. But if we had tried to pull you from the Framework ourselves it could have done a lot more harm."

She swallows thickly. "The last week or so I'd been getting these massive headaches at the base of my skull. Sometimes it would last just a few seconds and other times it would last a few minutes."

"It was probably your brain starting to reject the Framework," Jemma explains.

"But why didn't it happen sooner?" she asks. "I've been in there for a year and it didn't start happening until just recently. Wouldn't it have happened sooner?"

Everyone around her shares a look and she shifts uncomfortably.

"What's going on?" she asks.

She watches as Coulson takes a deep breath and steps towards her. "Daisy, you've only been plugged into the Framework for a couple of months. Time must move faster in there than it does out here."

Her eyes go wide and her heartbeat picks up. "What? No." She shakes her head. "You're wrong. I've been in there for a year. Grant and I, we've been married for four months, and Jess just turned three yesterday, and I'm..." she trails off as more tears spring to her eyes. "I never got to tell him," she says quietly, her hand resting on her abdomen again. "I was going to tell him but I never got the chance, because he told me to come back here."

"What didn't you get to tell him?" Jemma asks.

"I think it's obvious," May speaks up, gesturing with her head.

Everyone else follows May's gaze, as does she, and stares at the hand that she has covering her stomach.

"You were pregnant in there," Fitz speaks up.

She silently nods her head. Then she swallows thickly and opens her mouth to speak. "I just found out a few days ago. I was so excited; I was going to tell him last night. Before the wedding we had talked about this happening, just not so soon. Jess was going to be a big sister, and we...we were thinking about getting a dog too. We were going to be the picture perfect family. And now…now it's all gone." She chokes on another sob as fresh tears start to roll down her cheeks. "I'm never going to see him again, or my little girl, and I'm never going to meet our baby and I just…" she trails off as her body begins to shake from her cries, the room around her starting to shake as well. She almost forgot about her powers. She didn't have them inside the Framework, but she does out here. Everything's different out here. She's back in the life she chose to leave behind when she stayed inside.

A pair of arms wrap around her tightly, and while she's not quite sure whose arms they are, the one thing she does know is that this must be what her hugs always felt like to her little girl; warm, loving, caring, calming, everything she needs to feel at that particular moment.

She also realizes one more thing while wrapped in that warm, motherly embrace. She can't stay here either.

* * *

Turns out that taking a sabbatical from SHIELD was the best thing she could do for herself. Being in the Framework for so long, but not really very long, messed with her head and her emotions and she just needed to get away from that life for a while.

She ended up in a somewhat small town, far enough away from SHIELD without being completely cut off from them, and she found a one room apartment that was pretty cheap but still nice.

She made a nice life for herself in the few short months that she's been there. She let her hair grow back out because being in the Framework really got her used to having long hair again, she missed it. She's also made friends with a few of her neighbors, found a nice job so that she's not just sitting around doing nothing while she's away. She's even become a regular at the coffee shop; they know what her order is going to be before she can even approach the counter.

That's where she is now, sitting outside the coffee shop, sipping away at her hot coffee, a half eaten chocolate chip muffin next to her as she types away on her laptop, working on something for her job.

"Hi, I'm sorry to bother you, but I was hoping you could help me with something."

She looks up and her breath catches in her throat. "Grant?"

"Um, no. My name's Trevor," the man in front of her tells her.

Of course it's not really him. The universe has never been that nice to her. "Right, sorry. You just, you look a lot like someone I knew once."

Trevor shrugs. "Guess I must have one of those faces."

"Yeah, guess so." She shakes her head to clear her thoughts. If she starts thinking about him right now she just might break down and that's the last thing she wants. "I'm sorry; you came over here for something, not for me to get all sentimental about my past."

He laughs quietly. "It's alright. I was just wondering if you could help me with something. I'm new to town and still trying to find my way around."

"I've only been here a few months myself, but maybe I can still help you. What are you looking for?"

"The post office."

"Hmm, well, I don't know off the top of my head where it is, but give me a minute and I will be able to tell you its exact location." She turns back to her computer and begins tapping away at the keys, her eyes glued to the screen in front of her. "Alright, I've got it."

"Great. How completely off am I from its location?" he asks her with a small laugh.

"Not much, actually," she tells him. "You just need to keep walking about two more blocks, take a right, then go another block and you should be there."

"Awesome. Thank you so much…" he trails off.

"Skye," she tells him with a small smile. "My name's Skye."

He smiles back at her. "Well, Skye, thank you very much for helping me. It is greatly appreciated."

She waves him off. "It's no problem, really. I was more than happy to help. I like helping people."

"Then hopefully next time I need some help, you'll be nearby," he says with a small smile.

"Well I'm usually here every day before and afternoon work if you ever need any more help with anything," she tells him.

"And what if you're not here when I come by?" he asks her, leaning forward to rest his hands on the table she's sitting at.

She shifts in her seat and rests her forearms on the table, smiling up at him. "Tell you what; I'm pretty much done here so I'll let you walk me to my place since it just so happens to be on the way to the post office. And then maybe I'll even give you my phone number so whenever you need some help, you don't have to chance me not being at the coffee shop when you stop by."

"That sounds like a great plan," Trevor tells her. "But I feel like I should tell you upfront so you don't get the wrong idea or something later on, but I just got out of a long relationship so all I'm really looking for is a fresh start and a few friends. At least for right now."

"It's fine, Trevor, I get it. I actually just recently got out of a semi-long relationship as well. So I think I can help you out with the friend thing."

Trevor smiles. "That's awesome. And in that case, I would love to walk you to your place, friend."

"Let me just get my stuff together," she tells him and then begins gathering up her things.

She glances up a couple of times, finding Trevor standing near the table, watching her with the tiniest hint of a smile on his face. She slides her bag onto her shoulder, grabs her coffee cup and muffin, and then begins walking towards her apartment, Trevor falling into step right beside her.

Maybe he was right; maybe she really can do this. Maybe she can have a normal, beautiful life like she had with him. Maybe she can have that with someone like Trevor. Or even Trevor himself. Maybe she really can get her happily ever after. Someday.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So? What did you think? Let me know in a review down below. I'd love to hear your thoughts.
> 
> Please don't hate me! I love Skyeward with all my heart, I really do, but with this one, I'm pretty sure that Jemma even said on the show that prolonged exposure to the Framework could kill you. So I'm assuming that's because they hacked their way in. And I'm not sure how time actually works in the Framework, but for the sake of the story, we're saying it moves faster, because that makes sense.
> 
> For anyone who was curious, it's definitely May that wraps her in a hug there near the end. Hence the 'motherly' comment.
> 
> I would also like to point out, that I had this whole thing written before they released that sneak peek last night of Skyeward in the Framework, so I totally called her not having her powers inside. I'm awesome.
> 
> Until next time,  
> Jellybean96 out!

**Author's Note:**

> So? What did you think? Let me know in a review down below. I'd love to hear your thoughts.
> 
> Until next time,  
> Jellybean96 out!


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